Gorilla is an animal that belongs to the ape category, which means they are a member of “Primate,” which doesn’t have a tail. Primate is a class of monkeys which means gorillas resembles monkey and have feet, hands, and a big brain. They are found in Cameroon, Central Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other parts of Africa. Gorilla is a herbivore animal and eats lots of food; they can eat up to 29 kg’s of food every day. So here are 30 interesting facts about this gigantic and strong animal.
- According to the 2014 census, only 100,000 gorillas are remaining globally, and their population is slowly decreasing.
- In the wild world, only 1000 mountain gorillas are left.
- There are two species of gorillas in the world, and both are counted as endangered.
- Gorillas have one of the most deadly and strongest bite force of all animals. They can bite with 1300 pounds per square inch which stands at 6th position in all animal kingdom.
- Humans and leopards are the only predators of gorillas.
- Human birth control pills work on gorillas.
- Gorilla females give birth to 3 babies on average during their lifetime. It gives birth to a single infant at one point of time.
- It is believed that gorillas evolved in Africa about 11 million years ago.
- Gorillas have a lifespan of about 35 – 40 years.
- Standing on two legs, the height of a gorilla can be anywhere around 1.6 m to 1.7m (5.2 to 5.6 ft).
- A group of gorillas is called a band or a troop.
- Babies of gorillas are often called infants.
- The gestation period (pregnancy) of gorillas is about 8.5 months, which is about two weeks lesser than that of humans.
- The oldest gorilla named colo was the first gorilla to be born in captivity. He was a western gorilla and lived for 60 years and 26 days (December 22, 1956 – January 17, 2017).
- Wild male gorillas can weigh anywhere around 136 to 227 kg (300 to 500 lb), while adult females weigh 68–113 kg (150–250 lb).
- Its been determined that in captivity, male gorillas reach the age of maturity at the age of seven, and in wild conditions, they reach maturity around fifteen.
- An average gorilla has an IQ of between 75 and 95, and they could understand 2,000 words of spoken English. Whereas for humans IQ the number stands anywhere between 85 to 115.
- Gorilla’s have unique nose prints, just like humans have unique fingerprints.
- Almost all the gorillas have the same type of blood group (B).
- While heart disease is almost absent in wild populations, it is the world’s leading killer of captive male gorillas.
- Charismatic and intelligent creatures, gorillas share 98.3 percent of their DNA with humans. Thus they are our closest cousins after bonobos and chimpanzees.
- Gorillas stick to a mainly vegetarian diet and are mostly herbivores. They primarily feed on stems, bamboo trees, and fruits. However, western lowland gorillas also eat termites and ants.
- An adult gorilla is easily capable of consuming 18kg to 20 kg of food each day.
- Much like humans that sleeps at night, gorillas also tend to sleep at night and for about 12 hours. In the wild, they make nests and shelter to be comfortable.
- Gorillas are considered apes, not monkeys. The common way to distinguish between apes and monkeys is that apes do not have tails like monkeys do.
- A mature male gorilla is called a Silverback. This refers to the silver-colored hair covering his back, which occurs when he’s about 10-12 years old.
- Gorillas can catch human colds and other diseases that humans can get caught with.
- When they walk using all their legs and their arms, an adult gorilla is about 1 meter tall to its knees.
- All gorilla eyes are dark brown outlined with a dark ring around the iris.
- They have longer and thicker body hair that helps them to stay warm in high and cold altitudes.
